Two months into the celebrations marking Beethoven’s 250th birthday, there are no signs yet of Ludwig-fatigue. We’ll have the chance to hear everything that Beethoven wrote, and many pieces will come round over and over again. That won’t be the case with his Missa solemnis, which has never achieved widespread popularity.
Some performances seem weighed down by solemnity. Not here, though. From the very opening moments there was a powerful feeling of dramatic momentum, maintained by the BBC Symphony Orchestra and Chorus.
The four soloists became in effect a mini-choir, each voice bright and clear, with soprano Elizabeth Llewellyn and tenor Thomas Atkins outstanding. Conductor Donald Runnicles kept textures transparent, allowing the woodwinds to shine through, while the power of the choral singing brooked no argument.
This was music to lay siege to heaven; as Beethoven wrote on the score, “From the heart — may it return — to the heart!”
